“It’s been difficult coping with classes without an A Block. We’ve had to use various rooms across the college [such as] the assembly hall, cafeteria and staff room as teaching spaces. Every room fully utilised as much as we possibly can.
“It’s disruptive, but I tell the students that it’s short-term pain for a long-term gain. The first six classrooms will be completed by the end of term three, and the last six by the end of term four. Four classrooms are already completed. They are 23 metres long and will be brought down from Hamilton; it will be quite a sight,” he said.
In mid-March this year, while conducting routine testing for sewer and stormwater upgrades, asbestos-containing material was found in the soil, according to the Ministry of Education (MoE).
This led to a wider investigation which identified the asbestos roof and cladding on A Block had begun to deteriorate. Although the test results showed the asbestos readings were almost undetectable and within acceptable WorkSafe limits, the board and MoE made the decision to close A Block.
The board and MoE agreed to demolish the block and replace it with new classrooms. Six new double teaching spaces will replace the 12 teaching spaces that were in A Block.
The new classrooms (OMBs) will be manufactured off-site in a factory in order to cause minimal disruption to the school. They can be delivered faster than a traditional build and have low ongoing maintenance costs to boards.
These are standard designs that can be installed quickly and meet all MoE requirements for design and classroom performance of acoustics, lighting, ventilation and flexibility.
The board and MoE have been working hard in the background on the location and landscaping around these new classrooms, and they have a preferred layout that is being developed.
Collectively, they are working towards having these classrooms transported to the site.
Members of the board and school leadership team have visited two colleges in the last few weeks to see how their OMBs have been situated and how they’re being used.
“It was really reassuring to see how satisfied staff and students are with the end result, and these visits have helped them visualise how we can use the OMBs at Tararua College,” said Anderson.
All eight principals have been through A Block since foundation principal Ian McLean started in 1960. He was followed by: M.K. Denholm from 1968-69, S.W. Gaudin from 1970-1988, S.E. Smith from 1988-1997, P.J. McCreery from 1997-2005, G. De Castro from 2005-2016, J. Ward from 2017-2019 and Anderson to the present time.
The final layout and details are still being decided - courts, turf and decking are only ideas of how the courtyards can be used at this stage.
